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Timeline
The timeline of Spartakus has its first major divergences in late-1918 when Rosa Luxemburg, with the help of influential Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, is able to convince the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) to stand in elections in the Weimar government. The Great War Divergent events that did not occur in our historical timeline are marked with italics in this section. 1914 * Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary and his wife Sophie are assassinated in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914 by Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip. * After sending a list of absurd demands to the Kingdom of Serbia, Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia on 28 July. This is followed by a German declaration of war on Russia and France as part of the Central Powers alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary. * Germany invades Belgium to execute the Schlieffen Plan, prompting a British declaration of war. The Entente alliance between France, Great Britain, Russia, Belgium and Serbia is affirmed. The Great War begins. * The German offensive through Belgium and Northern France is halted at the Marne river in early September. Both sides construct trenches and the fighting enters a static phase which will remain for much of the Great War. * The Russian offensive into East Prussia is reversed at Tannenberg from 26 – 30 August. * The Ottoman Empire enters the war on the side of the Central Powers on 28 October. The Mesopotamian campaign begins shortly after. * The famous Christmas truce between British and German soldiers commences on Christmas Eve (24 December). 1915 * Poison gas is used for the first time on a mass scale at the Battle of Bolimov on 31 January and again at the Second Battle of Ypres from 22 April – 25 May. * The Entente powers invade Gallipoli on 25 April in an effort to knock the Ottoman Empire out of the war. The Gallipoli Campaign begins. * The Lusitania, a civilian ship believed to be smuggling munitions, is sunk by a German U-boat on 7 May. Nearly 1,200 perish. * Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary on 23 May, joining the Entente. The Isonzo Offensive begins exactly a month later. * Germany suspends its campaign of unrestricted submarine warfare following international outcry over the sinking of the Lusitania. * The United States occupies Haiti on 28 July after the the pro-American Haitian President, Vilbrun Guillaume Sam, is murdered by insurgents fighting against his rule. * The Zimmerwald Conference begins on 5 September and ends three days later. It reveals the first cracks in the coalition between revolutionary and reformist socialists. * Bulgaria declares war on Serbia on 14 October, joining the Central Powers. Austro-Hungarian, German and Bulgarian forces engage in a decisive offensive against Serbia, breaking the stalemate that had existed since the beginning of the war. * Entente forces land at Salonika, Greece, in October. The first battle of the Salonika Front takes place at Krivolak on 17 October between French and Bulgarian forces. * The Serbian army collapses in November and is forced to retreat to Montenegro and Albania in order to evacuate. Over 200,000 Serbian soldiers will perish travelling through Albania in the winter. * The President of the Republic of China, Yuan Shikai, declares himself Emperor of China on 12 December, beginning an ill fated attempt to restore the Chinese monarchy that was abolished in the 1911 Xinhai Revolution. * On 26 December, the Irish Republican Brotherhood agrees to stage an uprising on Easter Week the following year. This will become known infamously as the Easter Rising. 1916 * The Gallipoli Campaign ends with a decisive Ottoman victory on 9 January. * Germany launches the Verdun Offensive on 21 February in an attempt to capture the fortified positions in the Meuse Heights in an effort to force the Entente to launch a full scale attack which they hoped would drain the manpower of the French and British armies. The battle drags out until December with almost all German gains lost and no expected full scale Entente offensive. * Germany declares war on Portugal on 9 March, prompting Portugal to officially enter the Entente alliance on 7 August. Portugal assembles a 30,000 strong expeditionary force to be sent to France, while other forces fight Germany in the colony of Mozambique. * The Easter Rising in Ireland begins on 24 April. The Irish Republic is proclaimed independent from the United Kingdom. After six days of bloody fighting that claimed the lives of 485 soldiers and civilians, the Irish rebels are forced to surrender to the British Army. 14 of the leaders of the uprising are executed, including famous socialist James Connolly. These executions cause an increase in sympathy towards Irish nationalism among the Irish population. * The naval Battle of Jutland commences on 31 May and ends the following day with more losses for the British than the Germans, however it forces the smaller German Navy to remain in port for the rest of the war. * Russia launches the Brusilov Offensive on 4 June and ends on 20 September with major Russian gains albeit with high casualties. It fails in its objective to bring Austria-Hungary out of the war. * The Somme Offensive begins on 1 July and concludes on 18 November without a clear victor as, although the Entente penetrated 10 km into the German lines, they failed to capture their objectives and experienced over 600,000 casualties. * The Brusilov Offensive prompts Romania to enter the war on 27 August through an invasion of Transylvania. German intervention, however, results in the collapse of the Romanian Army and the capture of Bucharest in December. * Democratic Party candidate Woodrow Wilson is narrowly elected President of the United States on 7 November. 1917 *The February Revolution breaks out in Russia on 8 March (O.S. 23 February) and results in the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II. The Provisional Government is established under Alexander Kerensky and Russia becomes a republic. Dual power is established between the Provisional Government and the Soviets (workers council). *The United States enters the Great War through declaring war on Germany on 6 April following the interception of the Zimmerman Telegram in January, and the resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare by Germany on 1 February. They declare war on Austria-Hungary on 7 December. *The Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USPD) is founded on 6 April as an anti-war breakaway from the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). The Spartacus League aligns with it. *Greece declares war on the Central Powers on 29 June. *Vladimir Lenin returns from exile to Russia on 16 April and publishes his April Theses, which denounces the Provisional Government and calls for the Soviets to take power. The Bolsheviks incite mass demonstrations in Petrograd against the Provisional Government in early July, which becomes known as the July Days. The demonstrations are suppressed by the government, which arrests Bolshevik leader Leon Trotsky. Lenin flees to Finland to avoid arrest or death, exiling himself once again. *The Battle of Passchendaele begins on 31 July and ends on 10 November with massive casualties without any major gains for either side. *The Republic of China declares war on Germany and Austria-Hungary on 14 August. *The Battle of Caporetto begins on 24 October and ends on 19 November with major Central Powers gains and the complete collapse of the Italian Second Army. *Brazil declares war on the Central Powers after a German U-Boat sinks the Paraná, a Brazilian ship. *The October Revolution topples the Provisional Government in Russia and results in the establishment of Soviet Russia, the end of dual power and the beginning of the Russian Civil War. Russia is effectively no longer a combatant in the Great War. *Finland declares independence from Russia on 15 November. 1918 *Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States, introduces his Fourteen Points peace plan on 8 January. *The Ukrainian People's Republic declares independence from Russia on 22 January. *The Finnish Civil War begins on 27 January with the Battle of Kämärä. *Lithuania declares independence from Russia on 16 February, becoming the first Baltic nation to declare independence. Estonia declares independence not long after on 24 February. *The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk is signed between the Central Powers and Soviet Russia on 3 March, officially ending Russian involvement in the Great War. *Germany launches the Spring Offensive in France on 21 March, making significant gains but without the supplies to sustain it. Undersupplied and understrength, German forces were decisively defeated once again at the Marne from July to August by an Entente counter-offensive backed by tanks. *The Belarusian People's Republic declares independence from Russia on 25 March. *The Finnish Civil War ends on 15 May with a White victory. *The Entente intervenes in the Russian Civil War on behalf of the Whites on 3 July. The Romanov family, including the former Tsar Nicholas II, are executed in Ekaterinburg on 17 July. *''Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks reconcile their previously hostile relations with the Left Socialist Revolutionaries (Left SR's).'' *The Entente, now backed by American forces, launches the Hundred Days Offensive on 8 August which results in the complete collapse of the German Army and the capture of the Hindenburg Line. *Italy subsequently launches the Vittorio Veneto offensive on 24 October, resulting in the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Army. *The Wilhelmshaven mutiny commences after German sailors refuse to engage in a suicidal battle against the British Royal Navy. The mutiny is suppressed after torpedo boats point their cannons at the mutinous sailors. However, the German naval command abandons their plans for battle. The German Revolution begins. *The State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs declares independence from Austria-Hungary on 29 October. *The Polish-Ukrainian War begins on 1 November after a declaration of independence by the West Ukrainian People's Republic, based in Lviv/Lwów. *German sailors launch the Kiel mutiny on 3 November. 40,000 sailors, soldiers and workers seize Kiel, and the same occurs in Wilhelmshaven two days later. The protesters form revolutionary councils, inspiring workers and soldiers across Germany to do the same. The German Revolution escalates. *An armistice with the Entente is signed by the Ottoman Empire on 30 October, followed by Austria-Hungary on 3 November and the German Empire on 11 November. The Great War ends with an Entente victory. *Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates his throne on 9 November, and the rest of the monarchs of the German Empire follow soon after. The Weimar Republic is declared. Post-War Divergent events that did not occur in our historical timeline are marked with italics in this section. 1918 *Charles I of Austria gives up power, but does not officially abdicate. Austria is declared a republic on 12 November. *British, French and Italian forces occupy Constantinople on 12 November. *Czechoslovakia and Hungary declare independence from Austria, while Poland becomes a republic, declaring independence from the German-controlled Kingdom of Poland. *Latvia declares independence from Russia on 18 November, becoming the last Baltic country to declare independence. This is done with the support of the Germans, who remain in the east despite the end of the war. *The provisional Montenegrin government known as the Podgorica Assembly dethrones the exiled King Nicholas I, and declares a union with Serbia on 26 November. Serbia annexes Montenegro officially on 29 November. This move is opposed by Montenegrin nationalists, as well as Italy. *The Estonian War of Independence begins on 28 November after the Bolshevik Red Army invades. Estonian citizens join both the Bolsheviks and the Estonian Army. *The Greater Poland Uprising begins on 27 December as Poles in German territory fight to join the fledgling Polish Republic. *''The USPD representatives in the Council of the People's Deputies remain in government despite aggression from the SPD against revolutionary soldiers. The USPD is able to maintain leverage over the reformists of the SPD under Friedrich Ebert. The USPD representatives demand parliamentary elections be delayed until 26 February, a demand which Ebert is forced to accept as the military situation in Berlin falls out of his grasp.'' 1919 * The Spartacus League forms the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) on 16 January from a split in the USPD. Party leaders Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht are able to convince the KPD to participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections. They begin campaigning for the elections, with the delay until February being crucial in giving them time to establish support. * The Paris Peace Conference begins on 18 January. * The Monarchy of the North is established in Portugal on 19 January. Although it captures support in the city of Porto, it collapses on 14 February due to poor organization. * The Polish-Soviet War begins on 14 February after Polish forces invade Soviet Belarus and engage in the Battle of Bereza Kartuska. * Parliamentary elections are held in Germany on 26 February 1919. The KPD comes in second place, close behind the SPD. * The Communist International (Comintern) is founded on 2 March. * Friedrich Ebert is elected as the first President of Germany through an indirect parliament vote on 15 March 1919. * On 21 March, the Hungarian Soviet Republic is established by socialist revolutionary Béla Kun, overthrowing the liberal Hungarian People's Republic. The Hungarian Communist Party expands its support base. * The Italian Fasci of Combat is formed on 23 March by Benito Mussolini. It will be the predecessor to the National Fascist Party. * The Bavarian Soviet Republic is formed on 6 April. Initially led by the playwright Ernst Toller, the KPD sent their own representatives led by Munich native Johannes Becher, who takes control of the government. The Bavarian Red Army is formed to defend the republic. *''In mid-April, the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) and the Independent Social Democratic Party (USPD) sponsor a planned mass strike on May Day. On 28 April, mere days before the strike, revolutionary workers councils are reassembled. The SPD hastily attempts to prepare the Freikorps and the Reichswehr, but is hindered by internal conflicts with the right-wing.'' *''Strikes and demonstrations erupt across Germany on 1 May, or May Day. Millions of workers and soldiers flood into the streets in cities across the country. The Reichswehr is ordered to fire on the demonstrators, but in many cases they mutiny. The Freikorps attacks demonstrators in Berlin, triggering the escalation towards revolution. Armed workers, backed by mutinous soldiers, seize Berlin and various other major cities. This marks the start of the May Revolution, and therefore the German Civil War.'' *''The Turkish Nationalist Revolt commences on 19 May under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Pasha.'' *''Now backed by the United Kingdom and the Russian White movement, the German Baltische Landeswehr defeats the Estonian Army at the Battle of Cēsis. Estonia and the Baltische Landeswehr subsequently sign a ceasefire and join forces to fight the Bolsheviks. The abandoned Latvian government collapses.'' *'WIP'